Hobart a great AFL venue, for the right club

 
Michael DiFabrizio Columnist

By , 24 Jun 2010 Michael DiFabrizio is a Roar Expert

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Jason Blake and Colm Begley of St KIlda collide with Grant Birchall of Hawthorn during the AFL Round 19 match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the St Kilda Saints at Aurora Stadium. Slattery Images

Jason Blake and Colm Begley of St KIlda collide with Grant Birchall of Hawthorn during the AFL Round 19 match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the St Kilda Saints at Aurora Stadium. Slattery Images

With the success of Hawthorn’s push into Tasmania playing games at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, it was inevitable that Hobart’s Bellerive Oval would become a target of Melbourne-based AFL clubs looking to sell home games. Now that notion could very well become a reality.

The AFL have recently taken up the lead role in contract talks with the Tasmanian government and have pushed for up to eight games in the state, with some in Launceston and some in Hobart.

While the continuation of Hawthorn’s four-game Launceston deal is considered to be “top priority”, three clubs have reportedly shown interest in playing games in Hobart. Richmond have talked up the chances of a two-game stint, North Melbourne have talked about three or four games and Melbourne is apparently the third club involved.

On face value, the idea has a lot of merit.

Tasmania’s bid for an AFL team can only be boosted by more games being played in the state. If you can show crowds turning up to as many as eight games in a season, going to the AFL and asking for your own team (with only a handful more home games than eight) becomes much easier.

Then there’s the point raised by former premier Paul Lennon earlier in the year. He said the Hawks’ penetration in Tasmania had reached its saturation point and a second club playing games in the South was the only possible way of expanding the state’s AFL presence in the short-term.

As is well known, there is a divide in Tasmania between the North (where Launceston is) and the South (where Hobart is) which creates the opportunity to play extra games away from Aurora Stadium with a good chance of success.

Hawks president Jeff Kennett surprisingly wasn’t opposed to the idea when asked, but stressed only if the club involved had the same commitment to Tasmania as his club. “I would hate to see Tassie as a dumping ground for clubs that only want your money,” he said at the time.

Since then, the AFL have met with key figures and clubs have emerged as potential candidates, so the wheels are now well and truly in motion – even if a few obstacles stand in the way.

The North-South rivalry, despite being one of the reasons an opportunity like this exists, presents one roadblock.

“We have always accepted that cricket was to be played in Hobart and AFL football would be at Aurora – and that was the deal,” said Launceston City Council’s Robin McKendrick earlier this month. And it’s a view that’s accepted by many, with governments in the past keen to separate the two cities along those lines.

The current standard of Bellerive Oval as a venue is another issue. Comments from the AFL’s Gillon McLachlan suggest it isn’t yet up to scratch, although part of the reason why Cricket Tasmania have been so open to the idea of AFL matches is that it could assist them in their plans to expand the ground from its present 16,500 capacity to 23,000.

Given matches may not begin until after the introduction of Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, there is time to overcome these issues.

Then it comes down to which clubs should be given the green light to play in Hobart.

Richmond are the sentimental choice, with former legend Matthew Richardson, current CEO Brendan Gale and new superstar Jack Riewoldt all from Tassie. They also have the right mascot – the tiger.

But they are also a big club with a big supporter base with no real need to be selling home games. Hawthorn could also be described as such a club, but the important thing here is that they couldn’t be described that way when they started their Tasmanian push. Their Tasmanian push is one of the reasons why they got to where they are now.

We should be allowing a struggling club of today to go out and try to replicate what the Hawks did, which is why a North Melbourne or Melbourne would be a great fit.

Of course, the issue with North is the commitment they made when rejecting the AFL’s Gold Coast offer to play their home games in Melbourne.

But it has to be said a “home game” simply isn’t what it used to be. With venue sharing and “replacement” home games and 17-game membership packages, the lines are becoming increasingly blurred. So long as North still have over half their games in Melbourne, there shouldn’t be an issue.

If anything, with their situation right now, North Melbourne are the perfect candidate.

Despite being on the verge of the top eight, the Roos drew the smallest Melbourne crowd of the season last weekend, with 15,109 turning up for their match with Port Adelaide. Their crowds against interstate teams – and their membership figure – have been recurring issues this season.

Three or four games in Hobart – against these very interstate teams, with the scope for more Tasmanian-based members – could be just what they need.

Follow Michael on twitter @mdifabrizio
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